Tentacle-Free Anime: "Case Closed" Movie 1 Review

If there is one single difference between the Japanese and American cultures it is that when it comes to kids shows, anime from Japan can sometimes understand that a child’s mind can indeed handle more than what society would have us believe. This too is a belief I hold, but unfortunately I do not have control over what our children see, but if I did there would be deeper themes to our shows than the watered down dribble we get today. In fact, the 90s was perfect for kids’ shows when it came to having deeper themes and trusting the growing mind of a child below the ages of ten. This anime I am about to discuss takes idea of a deeper theme to an entirely new level, but in my feeble mind I do believe it still level enough that I would raise my child with this show.

The city is in the grip of a crazed bomber and nobody is safe as a crushing wave of terror washes over the innocent citizens. Planes, trains, and massive towers all threaten to light up the night sky; the sick whims of a brutal lunatic played out in sudden balls of fire. Conan Edogawa finds himself in a desperate race against the clock, an explosive game of cat and mouse with a deviant madman… and every second counts. Can he unravel the maniacal malcontent’s scheme before the next timer reaches zero? You never know when your time might come. [Amazon.com]

This anime is known as Case Closed, or to the rest of the world, Detective Conan. An anime series based off of a manga, both of which are still going to this day. And both having debuted in the mid-90s. It is a detective series based around the idea that the world’s greatest detective, Jimmy Kudo is turned into a kid by an experimental drug that was originally meant to kill him. Now he must form an alias by the name of Conan Edogawa and solve cases while dealing with the life of elementary school and living with a second-rate detective, who Conan ends up helping become better at what he does.

The first 'Case Closed' movie poster

This series is a school anime though; it is a constant story arc of Conan trying to find his mysterious attackers that changed him while solving one crime after another.What makes this kid’s series different, if that wasn’t enough for you, is that it does handle very mature cases and themes when it comes to each crime, but everything about how the action and characters are handled, from the dialogue to the atmosphere screams "kids show". But a kids show that doesn’t shy away from the horrors of the real world, giving it to children in a digestible way so they’re not being treated like idiots but also not giving it to them in a way that will scar them for life. Usually the crimes revolve around murder, but not always, as is the case of the first in an on-going line of Case Closed movies. I have only season the first 2 seasons of this anime, and only the first movie so I can only judge it on its merits as it stands alone.

I have seen very few anime come out swinging with such a good way of introducing anyone to a series through the first movie, but if you wanted to also introduce them to anime in general. The Time-Bombed Skyscraper begins with a murder that introduces the viewer to all the major players of the show while also showing off how clever it can be when it comes to pulling the rug out from underneath our feet. It then segues into a small but informative introduction as to how Conan came to be Conan, as I explained above in this review. The meat of the story though doesn’t revolve around murder, but a serial bomber that has challenged Jimmy Kudo (I should probably mention now that many people do not know Conan is Jimmy) to a game of chase, placing bombs in cleverly timed areas in different architectural landmarks of the city Conan lives in. The bombs are filled with large amounts of C-4 and are powerful enough to bring down entire bridges and skyscrapers, adding to the urgency of finding each bomb before time runs out.

The opening murder case.

The bomber faces Conan through a series of challenges, starting “small” and building bigger with more challenging obstacles that ends up requiring the entire police force to get involved. And as the challenges grow bigger, so does the amount of lives that could be lost in the devastation.

The bomber looks on as Conan attempts to solve one of his challenges.

Another big theme to this movie is the color red, specifically the red string of fate, a legend that is if two people are destined to be together, then a red string will be tied to their pinkies from birth and pulls them closer together until they reach each other at some point in their lives. Rachel, the aforementioned second rate Detective’s Richard Moore’s daughter is taking Jimmy to see a movie for his birthday and she believes the two of them are tied to one another by the red strong of fate. There is a lot of red in the background of the movie, but the theme of destined lovers doesn’t ever feel heavy handed or crucial to the movie, in fact the color red ties cleverly into the plot of the bomber giving it more reason to be there than to be some gimmick to be preachy which thankfully we never get.

Conan has a keen eye for detail.

Watching this movie I never got the sense of boredom, instead of was kept on the edge of my seat attempting to figure out every obstacle as to how our heroes would defeat the countdown placed on each challenge and how the bomber was pulling off his grand feats. It really kept my mind thinking which I love in a movie or a TV show as it means I’m investing myself in the story. One such effect it had was on my father, who really isn’t into anime but when I put this movie on for the first time I remember turning it off half way through for some reason or another (it definitely wasn’t because I wasn’t enjoying myself), and my dad yelled at me to turn it back on because he wanted to see what was going to happen next. It was sort of like in that instance, after all the kid’s anime I grew up with like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon and what have you; it was THIS kid’s anime that showed my father that anime is a lot more sophisticated than most people give it credit for. Since then there have been a few other times my father has enjoyed sitting down and watching anime or two with me.

Conan helping solve a mystery with his voice-changing bow-tie.

If there really is any one thing I can say about this movie that I didn’t like is, and this is a complaint for the series proper or me as well, it is a bit convenient that a little kid can go around to crime scenes and no adult tells him he shouldn’t be there seeing such a gruesome scene (no scene is painted as gruesome in this series, but I could imagine any sensible adult telling a child that in real life) but this is a kids anime and they need the main character to be there, logic be damned. Another pet peeve is the stereotypical super gadgets made for Conan by his professor friend who does know Conan is actually Jimmy Kudo. If he can use these types of devices like a voice-changing bow tie and a solar powered super-skateboard in everyday life, where is this technology at for the masses? Wouldn’t this scientist be world-renowned already if he had the capabilities of making items like this? But again, it’s a staple for a show like this, so I let it slide.

All in all, the first Case Closed movie is a wonderful introduction to anime and to a TV series as I ever saw one, if you’re a crime show aficionado I would highly recommend picking up this movie and giving it a go. For some of you, it may be easy to pick out who the bomber is, to some of us who don’t watch crime shows that often, a story like this comes along as a wonderful break but also a great challenge for the thinking man.

“With a keen eye for detail, one truth prevails.” – Conan Edogawa

Final Verdict: 5 Time-Bombed Skyscrapers out of 5

Have you seen any of the "Case Closed" movies? Enjoyed the review? Let us know in the comments!